Fast Times for Anthony Kim and Jeff Overton

IS FAST PLAY INCOMPATIBLE with the modern tour player and big-money tournament golf? Apparently not.

I just read in Brian Wacker’s Monday Backspin column that Anthony Kim and Jeff Overton flew around the Blue Monster last weekend. Maybe they stole carts from the Champions Tour because they really got around in a hurry.

Admittedly, both Kim and Overton weren’t anywhere close to being in contention at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Kim opened with a ghastly 80, followed by a 74. Overton shot 75 and 77 in the first two rounds.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Playing at warp speed (at least by PGA Tour standards), both players actually shot lower scores on the weekend.

How fast did they go? The pair clocked a brisk 2 hours and 51 minutes in Saturday’s third round. Kim carded a 68, which is pretty impressive. Overton had a semi-respectable 73.

They were just getting started. On Sunday, they left skid marks at Doral.

AK fired an even-par 72 for a 6-over total of 294. Overton posted another 73 for a 10-over total of 298. Unfortunately, Kim and Overton finished 60th and 66th (which was dead last), respectively. But they didn’t agonize over yardages. They didn’t count blades of Bermuda. They didn’t plumb bob. They didn’t ask for a ruling and chat with an official for 15 minutes. I seriously doubt if they even stepped into a porta-potty.

No, they played their final round in a little more than two hours. TWO HOURS. I don’t care who you are, that’s fast. Some people have never played nine holes in two hours.

Now they need to shoot lower scores. Kim, for example, is 14 over in his last three stroke-play tournaments. That’s not good.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Global Voyager, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Louis Oosthuizen Fires 67 With Eye Closed

ON SATURDAY MORNING IT seemed doubtful that Louis Oosthuizen would tee it up in the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The reigning British Open champion has been sick for a while. Last week he withdrew from the Honda Classic after the second round. Antibiotics had helped, but the infection had moved from his left eye to his right, which was swollen shut.

“It looked pretty bad,” Oosthuizen said at PGATour.com. “It was swollen badly and I couldn’t really see through it. I just iced it and got some eye drops put in.”

The eye felt OK an hour before his tee time, so the South African decided to start the round. But he also suspected he would hang it up after a few holes. “I just wanted to give myself a chance,” he said.

Putting five birdies on his card, Louis recorded a 31 on the opening nine. “The first seven holes I could have been seven under.” He took dead aim and didn’t worry about a thing, even though his right eye was swollen and watery, blurring his vision.

Oosthuizen got to 7 under on his round at the 16th before making a pair of closing bogeys to notch a 67. Still, not bad for a player whose right eye was described as a slit when he finished. Beware the ailing golfer.

Dustin Johnson (13 under) leads by two over Luke Donald, Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar heading into the final round at the Blue Monster.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Bob Stapleton, Flickr, Creative Commons license)